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Apr122014

The Best Zombie Games

With AMC’s popular television series, The Walking Dead, recently having wrapped up its fourth season, fans may find themselves going through zombie withdrawal. With this lack of brain-chomping, undead creatures in mind, we thought this would be a great opportunity to share some of our favorite zombie video games. So, are you ready to take down some zombies? Then grab your favorite cricket bat, head on over to the Winchester, read this list, and wait for all this to blow over (bonus points if you catch that movie reference!).

Left 4 Dead

Cooperative play is the name of the game in this popular first-person shooter. You’ll team up with other players, fighting your way through wave after wave of the undead horde as you try to survive each of the games varied scenarios. The game is broken up into a series of campaigns, each of which plays out like its own self-contained movie. For example, one scenario has you fighting your way through a city toward a hospital to escape the onslaught of the living dead via a helicopter, while another thrusts you into the middle of a dense forest as you fight your way to a farmhouse. The real standout of this game is the versus multiplayer mode, where players assume control of the infected. Each of the playable infected characters has a different play-style and approach, giving the game nearly endless replay value.

Dead Island

While it may look like just another zombie-themed first-person shooter off the bat, Dead Island actually has more in common with The Elder Scrolls than it does Left 4 Dead. When starting the game, you’ll choose one of four characters, each of which has different skills, strengths, and weaknesses. As one of few survivors on the fictional tropical island of Banoi, your goal is to fight your way through seemingly endless waves of zombies as you attempt to avoid becoming one yourself. Throughout your adventure, you’ll find and craft new weapons, earn experience points to level up your skills, and meet survivors who may or may not have your best interests in mind. Additionally, Dead Island features drop-in, drop-out cooperative play with up to three other players, allowing you to recruit the help of other survivors as you look to put an end to what may go down as the worst vacation of all time.

DayZ

Originally released as a mod for Arma II in 2012, DayZ is now a standalone title on steam (currently in alpha testing). Compared to every other game on the list, DayZ will provide an experience that is most similar to watching an episode of The Walking Dead. You’re a lone survivor stranded in Chernarus—a massive open-world environment that features cities, military bases, forests, and various other locations—during a zombie apocalypse. As you travel the vast landscape, you’ll scavenge for food and items, crafting custom weapons and armor along the way. What really makes this game fun—or frustrating—is the interaction with other players. As with the characters on The Walking Dead, you’ll never quite know whom you can trust. Is the person you just met trying to help you? Or are they just trying to lure you into a trap so they can kill you and steal your valuable resources?

The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)

Much like the television series the game is based on, The Walking Dead focuses less on the fast-paced action of the other games in this list, and focuses more on delivering a compelling, emotional story. Taking place shortly after the zombie apocalypse begins in Georgia, The Walking Dead puts you in the shoes of a survivor named Lee who is trying to help a young girl named Clementine find her lost parents. Every decision you make in the game will have an impact on the story, so carefully weigh each choice before you make them—it may mean saving the life of one of your fellow survivors. As you dive deeper into the games masterful plot, you’ll encounter familiar faces from the television series—some friendly, others…not so much. While the gameplay featured in The Walking Dead may not be as hectic as you’re accustomed to, you’ll fall in love with the characters (especially Clem) and the dramatic plot will constantly keep you on the edge of your seat.

Those are just a few of our favorite zombie games. What did you think of the list? Do you have anything you’d like to add to it? What’s your favorite zombie game of all time? Let us know in the comments below!